Solitary Predator
by Gramm485
Summary: Ocelots are solitary predators, but once in a while, they hunt in packs. But will even a pack of vicious felines be able to take down one of the most dangerous animals of the jungle, a snake? A oneshot of the Ocelot Unit fight from Metal Gear Solid 3.


Snake awoke to some ambient jungle creature making a small noise in the distance. He jerked once ever so slightly, then remained motionless. Carefully, he squinted his eyes open just enough. It was what he always did when he slept in hostile territory. If there was someone sneaking up on him, it might fool them into thinking he was still asleep. His M1911 was lightly in his hands, safety off for just that occasion.

He never should have dosed off. He didn't trust EVA for one second when she hadn't even given him the password for their contact. Who knew what she could do if she tried to double cross him? But the jungle night had been hot, and even EVA, a KGB spy, didn't look immediately threatening, so he closed his eyes and drifted off by mistake. Speaking of EVA...

_What is she doing?_

Snake's eyes were just barely wide enough to get a clear view. The blond woman was stooped over, wearing nothing but her underwear as she fumbled with her jumpsuit around her legs. Why was she undressing, or redressing for that matter? Any military or tactical thoughts left him as he suddenly found himself just enjoying the view of her trim rear end dance before him.

Until he heard the twig snap.

In an instant, he was fully awake and alert. He jumped to his feet as quietly as he could, his harness squeaking as he crouched on the mattress-less cot he'd been sitting on. He kept the grunt of pain that escaped him to a minimum. The broken rib from his tussle with the Boss hadn't had time to heal properly yet, and if the mission kept up the way it had, it probably wouldn't period. It felt like the bandages were loosening. Rather than let it distract him, he peered out the dirty window.

EVA jumped at his groan and stood upright, her tan jumpsuit half on up to her hips. "What's the matter?" she hissed.

"We're surrounded," Snake whispered back.

Just visible in the hazy surrounding foliage of the decrepit factory in Rassvet were approaching soldiers. He recognized the gear instantly. It wasn't the green forest camouflage of the typical soldiers, but the black officer uniforms of the Spetznaz Ocelot Unit. Wearing formal dress uniforms in the middle of the jungle might have sounded like a bad idea, but Snake knew that they were some of the GRU's best soldiers.

"I see...4 of them," he said. The visible soldiers began to fan out. They were heavily armed; AK-47's, M37's, and one even had a box-fed M63.

"We've got company," EVA said, stating the obvious as she got the top of her jumpsuit on. Snake couldn't help but take a quick peek at her still exposed cleavage from his perch. "It's the Ocelot Unit. Let's get out of here. Hurry!"

She quickly crossed the room to grab her motorcycle helmet while he continued to observe the approaching tangos. Snake briefly thought of her bike outside, and if EVA had hidden it properly. Maybe she did, maybe she didn't. Maybe she had led the Unit straight to him...

_If she did, oh well. There's not much you can do about it now._

"Don't forget your gear," she added, then motioned to the cot he was standing on. "Here, give me a hand."

Snake hopped down and together they lifted the cot away from the wall. Beneath it was a small trap door that she opened, leading to the hollow foundation of the factory. EVA had either scoped the place out ahead of time, or she knew it was there the whole time. He still didn't like the idea of trusting her.

"We can use this to get to the basement," she said, then hopped down and peered out one of the grates lining the wall near the ground. "Dammit! Ocelot!" she cursed.

_Ocelot? So the kid is here..._

Ocelot was the commander of the Ocelot Unit, naturally. What had surprised Snake was that he was really just a kid, barely 18 years old. He had an impressive talent for gunplay, but made a complete ass of himself at their last encounter. He was nothing more than a bully with a school gang. Now it seemed he was out for revenge.

"I'll get past them on my bike," EVA said, popping out of the trap door to grab her helmet. "I'll call you later!"

Snake grit his teeth for a moment. Sure, get past them, and that would be the last he saw of her as he walked into an ambush later on. It was a nasty thought, the entire Cobra Unit dropping on him at once. But in reality, he had maybe 60 seconds before the Unit stormed the building and he was dead anyway. So he was going to have to trust her for now if he was going to make it out of this.

"Okay, I'll keep them busy," he said.

To his surprise, she stood up, leaned forward, and kissed him on his stubbly green and black painted cheek. "Huh?"

"Don't go dyin' on me now," she said with a smile, then put on her helmet and disappeared.

Snake brushed his mentor's bandanna higher up on his forehead, keeping his matted, sweat soaked bangs out of his face. His face paint was drying out, and soon it would start to flake and come off. He made a mental note to reapply it later, once he got out of this situation.

Outside, he heard Ocelot barking orders to the Unit, casting off the subtlety of stealth and exchanging it for force.

"_Move!_"

Footsteps drew closer outside. There had to be more than the 4 he originally saw, most likely double that, plus Ocelot himself. They would probably breach the door with the standard shotgun approach, or maybe even blow the door altogether with some TNT. The room offered very little to hide. Under the cot, or in the rusted locker near the door. But the Unit wouldn't be stupid; they would sweep the entire room. There would be no place to hide. Snake didn't even have time to rig a trap to distract them.

_After EVA then. Get moving._

Snake drew his knife and hopped down the trapdoor, shutting it after him. Two seconds later, he heard two thunderous bangs which had to be the 12 gauge of a M37. Two shots against the door hinges, then one of them would kick it in. A third bang, more like an explosion, detonated through the floor above him. Sounded like a stun grenade.

Snake began to crawl through the dirt and cobwebs under the floorboards, making his way for a hole in the foundation. A rat skittered across his nose, reminding him of the one he'd eaten last night in the swamps. Speaking of which, he was starving. Above him, he heard the concerned voices of the breaching team.

"What? He's not here?"

"Did we lose him?"

"Keep looking. Move!"

Snake squirmed through the hole where a rusted grate used to be and into the early morning jungle that touched the factory. Half the unit was inside the factory, so the other half would be watching the perimeter. Armed with only his M1911 and his Mk22, he couldn't take them on head to head. So he needed to use stealth to get them one by one without alerting the rest of them.

Commando crawling with his arms for thrust, he wormed his way into the overgrown plants, moving as carefully as he could. With any luck, they would just mistake any noise and motion he made for a small animal passing by.

The first soldier was near the corner of the rear of the building. Snake was able to get within ten feet of him without alerting him. Up close, he could see the details of his uniform. All black, save for burgundy gloves and beret, and a black ski mask which must have been hotter than hell. The visage of the soldiers face visible was glazed with sweat, not unlike Snake's own in the humid jungle.

The poor soldier picked a bad place to stand guard. None of the others Snake spotted out in the area could see him. Breathing through his mouth and without a sound, he rose from the bushes behind him. He crept forward, then lunged, wrapping his arm around the soldier's head, jerking it back as his other hand came around with his survival knife and slit his throat. The soldier let out a gurgle before going limp. Snake quickly dragged him back and dumped him into the bushes before ducking into them himself.

_That's one._

His efforts did not go unnoticed, as a guard seemed to have heard the loud crash of branches from the dead body. He walked by, weapon raised cautiously as he searched for his comrade. Snake was about to hook his ankle when he froze. The guard gestured to the factory, and an Ocelot soldier from _on top_ the building became visible, holding a Dragunov sniper rifle. The two shared a hushed set of words across the silence and gap, discussing the disappearance of their comrade while Snake kicked himself for almost getting careless. It ended with a quick scan from the sniper, who then shrugged and moved to the other side of the roof for a different vantage point. Neither of them noticed the dollops of blood that had landed on the dirt.

As soon as the sniper moved out of view, Snake reached out and grabbed the boot of the soldier, tripping him to the dirt, then jerked him into the bush. There was a brief, suspenseful tussle as the soldier fought back, but Snake quickly silenced him with his knife.

Snake ventured out of the bush, keeping low to the ground, pistol and knife ready as he surveyed the side of the factory he was on. No soldiers. He had to take care of that sniper sooner rather than later. He spied the ladder in which the sniper himself had probably climbed to the sheet metal roof and began to ascend. Near the top of the ladder, he pressed himself close to the wall of the building and rapped hard against it.

The suspicious noise attracted the sniper, who quickly shuffled over to investigate. He was able to get out a small yelp as Snake popped up and grabbed him by the burgundy scarf around his neck and clamped a hand over his mouth, then jerked him off the roof. Together they fell and slammed into the ground. In a flash, Snake was on top of the stunned guard, locking his arm around his neck and squeezing until he felt that reassuring snap of the vertebrae breaking.

After haphazardly stowing the body behind some empty boxes in the rear of the complex and chucking the rifle into the woods, Snake dove back into the bushes. It had been several minutes, and now the rest of the Unit was spooked. They now noticed the three deaths, and Snake hadn't even been sighted yet. The sweeper team had broken up to join the perimeter. Snake guessed that they figured out he wasn't hiding inside the factory anymore.

A three and a two man squad split, fanning out to search the surrounding area. From his hiding spot, Snake pulled out his Mk22, also dubbed the 'hush-puppy'. It was a tranquilizer pistol that fired tiny needles, mainly used for hunting and trapping, but it worked on people too. They just mistook the sting for an insect. He carefully lined up a shot on the closest soldier, making sure that it was unobstructed by the plants around him, then squeezed the trigger, the suppressor dulling the bang of the gun to a mere whisper.

A guard jerked and clapped the middle of his back, alerting his comrades for a tense moment, but with nothing else suspicious, they resumed their search, shrugging it off as a mosquito. In a minute or two, the soldiers stumbled, then passed out altogether. Another soldier checked him, but was unable to wake him from his sedated stupor.

The unit was now half of what Snake originally predicted. He still hadn't seen Ocelot himself, but it was possible he was still inside the factory. It seemed that EVA made a clean escape, too. Maybe a little too clean.

The remaining 4 soldiers banded together, hesitantly watching the surrounding jungle. It seemed they couldn't work up the nerve to continue searching. Snake reached into the back of his belt and pulled free an empty clip he was saving. When the Squad wasn't looking, he hurled it out of the bushes, into the broken down factory where it clanked noisily upon impact.

The Unit moved in, drawn to the sound as Snake crawled his way around in the foliage targeting the closer of the group. They split into two teams of two, just as he hoped. He fired a round from his Mk22, the needle finding its mark on the soldier's neck. He went down almost instantly, just as Snake sprang up and tackled his partner as he realized what happened, then sank his knife deep into his chest.

With only a small wall between him and the other two, Snake knew he had to move fast. He quickly stuck the Mk22 in his belt and pulled out his M1911. This one actually shot bullets. Muscles tense and ready to spring, he crouched low near the broken doorway. A boot appeared.

Snake jerked forward, knocking the muzzle of the AK-47 out of the way, then kicked at the leg of the soldier, concentrating his CQC on the limbs and knocking him off balance. He twisted around, bringing the knife to his throat and pressing the soldiers body against his, using him as a shield. The other soldier hesitated in firing just long enough for Snake to draw a bead from over the captive soldier and fire, putting a bullet into his forehead.

With a quick jerk of his arm, Snake slammed the butt of his handgun into the back of the last soldier's skull, letting him fall in a heap. 8 soldiers he counted. Then he heard the gunshots, thinking he had missed one. Reflexively, he dropped low, but whoever was shooting wasn't aiming at him. They were close though.

He cautiously worked through the factory, carefully scanning for movement in the direction of the sound. He never thought that familiar voice would come from above him.

"I've been waiting for this moment!"

Snake whirled and locked onto the voice. It was Ocelot, and somehow, he'd taken EVA hostage. The young Major stood on a broken catwalk, one arm with a knife around her neck, the point of the weapon an inch away from the vital artery. In his other hand he held a gun. To Snake's surprise, it was a revolver.

_Looks like he actually listened to me..._

EVA was wearing her helmet and a ski mask beneath it, her jumpsuit fully zipped. That must have meant that Ocelot hadn't discovered her identity yet. Snake held his low CQC position, knife clasped to the handle of his gun which was aimed at Ocelot's barely visible head. Not good enough for a clean shot.

"That's it!" he cried, suddenly exited. He pointed with the knife. "That's the stance!"

EVA tried to shove him away the instant the point of the knife vanished, but Ocelot was quick. He grabbed her around the waist, still trying to hold the gun on Snake but all the while jamming the point towards her neck.

"I don't think so!" he sneered, then faltered when he realized he was holding one of EVA's breasts. "What? A female spy?" His hand left her chest and once again returned the blade to her throat.

Snake could only watch in interest as Ocelot suddenly cocked his head, then began to sniff her neck. Ocelot looked just like the rest of the Unit, though he didn't wear a ski mask, had ranking pins on his jacket, and for some reason, spurs on his boots. His peaked face looked like some predatory animal as he took great whiffs of EVA's scent, like he was analyzing his prey.

'_An Ocelot never lets his prey escape'..._

"This bitch is wearing perfume..." he muttered, then snapped his revolver up at Snake as he crept closer. "Stay where you are! I've had enough of your judo."

"I see you've got yourself a Single Action Army," remarked Snake.

Ocelot raised the weapon, admiring it. For a soldier, he certainly was careless about taking his weapon off of his opponent, even if he did have a hostage. But Snake didn't have a shot anyway, and he just happened to notice something that Ocelot was oblivious to.

"That's right," he said, smiling confidently. "There'll be no accidents this time."

Snake scoffed. "You call _that_ an accident?" At their last meeting, Ocelot had tried a little technique involving reloading a semi-automatic Makarov. The jammed bullet that resulted now hung around Ocelot's neck like a charm. The incident ended with Snake utterly humiliating him in front of his squad. "Well, it wouldn't have happened if you hadn't been showing off!"

"What did you say!?" spat Ocelot.

"It's a nice gun, I'll give you that," Snake said, "But the engraving gives you no tactical advantage whatsoever." The frame of Ocelot's revolver was indeed engraved, like in those spaghetti westerns Para-Medic kept talking about on the radio. "Unless you were planning on auctioning it off as a collector's item."

Ocelot's face turned angrier as he jerked at Snake's jeering.

"And you're forgetting one very basic thing..." Snake added, then dropped his stance, standing casually. "You don't have what it takes to kill me."

The younger man smiled coldly. "We'll see!"

He pointed the gun at Snake and pulled the trigger. Nothing but a dry click. Ocelot gasped and thumbed the hammer back and fired again. Click. He thumbed it again. Click. Slowly, his face turned to surprise as Snake grinned. It was hard to shoot a gun when you were out of ammo.

EVA launched into action, one long leg kicking up, the toe of her boot kicking over her shoulder and into Ocelot's face. He stumbled back, the point of the knife dropping from her neck. She spun and kicked again, cracking him across the face and sending him sailing off the catwalk where he landed on the ground with a thud. Not finished, Eva jumped and flipped in the air, twisting and landing neatly on her bike, then kicked it to life.

Snake forgotten, Ocelot scrambled to his feet with only the knife in his hand. His beret was gone, knocked away in her first kick, revealing his short blond buzz cut. He jumped at EVA, but she revved the bike and shot forward, popping a wheelie. Her front tire caught Ocelot in the face, and in a stunning feat, she flipped the biking, running the rear wheel over his face as well. He hit the ground hard, giving EVA more than enough time to land her flip, scoot next to Snake, and catch Ocelot's fallen knife as it came twirling down. His empty Single Action landed next to him.

"Six shots," Snake lectured lightly, now training his gun on the fallen commander. "That thing only carries six shots. The Makarov carries eight. You have to get a feel for how many you have left."

Ocelot furiously dusted himself off, a faint tire tread running up his face, then scrambled to pick up the gun. Snake carefully watched him the whole time, making sure he didn't try anything funny. But the weapon was empty, and it took time to reload it, so Snake let him grab it.

"This is a high class weapon," he said. "It's not meant for shooting people."

Ocelot stared at the empty revolver, scowling hard like a child. "Damn!" he swore, then composed himself with some difficulty. He raised his finger, silencing Snake, while his right hand spun the revolver rapidly about the trigger guard. The weapon made a tiny sputtering sound as the air moved through it. Without a word, he dropped it into the holster on his thigh. Catching that it sat backwards, he plucked it out by a finger, spun it elegantly, then dropped it in correctly.

He raised his hands in a gesture that Snake had seen before. Some kind of taunt or acknowledgment. "This isn't over yet!" With one last glare, he turned and ran.

EVA flipped the visor of her helmet up and drew her Mauser on the retreating man, holding it in the same deadly sideways grip that she demonstrated the night before. Snake grabbed her arm. "Don't!"

Her brow furrowed in confusion behind the ski mask she wore. "Why?"

Snake looked back to Ocelot, catching a glimpse of black and burgundy as he disappeared through the trees. "He's still young."

EVA scowled. "You'll regret stopping me..."

Snake ignored her. She was probably right. The words the Boss said to him the night before were still clear in his head. _GRU and my sons are waiting._ Her sons...the Cobra Unit. With Ocelot escaping, the entire jungle would know that he was there. Operation Snake Eater was barely six hours in, and things were already getting messy. But at least now he knew that he could trust EVA, at least more than he could before.

* * *

**Eh, so I was bored on night, and decided to write this. I've always loved this part of the game, and I really like the young Ocelot. This type of story is way different from what I ususally write, but it was good to try something new and fresh for a change.**


End file.
